About Hearts
by Yani06
Summary: As their mothers expected, Bill and Lia stuck together when they were kids. They grew up together, played together and went to Hogwarts together. That's when things changed, and suddenly they didn't knew each other anymore. As years pass and the bitter sensation left on their mouths increase, they can't help regretting. [Bill x OC]
1. About Childhood, Hogwarts and Growing Up

**Author Notes** : Hey, that's the first fanfiction I'm posting, so I hope you enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** This universe belongs to J.K. Rowling; I very adamantly do not agree with her disgusting views on trans community. The plot and a couple characters are, however, mine in fact.

 **Chapter's summary:** _Time changes people. Lia Burns learns that the hard way when the only person she ever called friend, suddenly, is not the same._ _But, after all, she's not the same too. By far._

* * *

She knew him since she identified herself as a person, as well as he knew her even before knowing how to sit. They shared toys, adventures, small broomsticks, magical discoveries, candies; they even shared a big crib when babies. Molly Weasley and Louise Burns had gone to Hogwarts together, and stuck together ever since; it only made sense their children would stick together too.

Oh, and they _did_.

Bill and Lia came almost as a pack when they were children. Before the war was at it's peak, they spent whole days at the Burrow's orchard and the gardens, playing around with broomsticks adequate for their size, chasing gnomes or deciding that chase random stray cats was more fun. Bill always had been more inclined to fall off the broom, and Lia would always get bitten by one of the small creatures infesting the gardens.

When Charlie was born, the two year olds pair would often be trying to steal glances at the small, curious thing that Molly was always carrying and nursing. Sometimes Bill would get a bit jealous, even though he himself didn't knew, and then Lia would notice the boy pouting and proceed to hug him or pull him to play something. She was a smart little one.

Before their sixth birthday, then, came Percy. Charlie was already grown, but Bill and Lia still preferred to play just between themselves mostly, so the boy either spent his time staring at his baby brother, chasing gnomes or befriending some bowtruckles that lived in the trees around the orchard. One rare time when the three of them were playing together, Charlie called Lia "my sister", and then Bill was angry because Lia wasn't anyone's but his. She was _his_ Lily. And he was _her_ Bill.

Molly ended up scolding her oldest son for hitting his smaller brother, keeping him from seeing Louise's daughter for a couple days as a small grounding. In the end, it was years before Bill fought Charlie again.

Then, at some point after their eight birthday party, which was always hosted at the Burns' house since the first one, they noticed the adults' sometimes odd behavior. Their parents and uncles would be shifty and careful, checking and being suspicious of everyone that knocked on their doors or crossed ways with them in the street.

But Bill and Lia would still swim in the lake or ice skate, if it was frozen (be it naturally or through a spell), and they would still play on toy broomsticks, chase gnomes and explore the gardens. When they went to Diagon Alley, they still visited Florean Fortescue's, admired the brooms and pets in exhibition through the shop fronts and daydreamed about getting a wand and going to Hogwarts.

When they completed nine years, things were drastically worse. The adults finally sat down with the duo and explained what was happening; the kids became almost terrified when they learned there was a war going on. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was, in their perspective, the bad guys' boss, the supreme evil. Not that it was too far from the truth, but reality was infinitely more complicated.

So they learned what they could to help, even at their extreme young age. Lia and Bill, instead of playing in the gardens, would take care of the paddock's herbs and flowers that would be used for potion brewing in the near future, granting no gnome or weed would touch them. They learned a simple spell that would warn the Order Of The Phoenix (a very heroic name, in their perspectives) to send them help. And when the duo accompanied their parents in the meetings, they would watch over the younger kids so that the adults could properly manage their matters.

Practically two whole years passed when it was almost time to go to Hogwarts, but their main focus was not the school. Uncles Gideon and Fabian had been recently killed, as well as many, many other family members and friends; between them, Lia's mother. When the Burns' house was attacked by half a dozen transformed werewolves, Louise shoved her husband and daughters into the green flames as she simultaneously activated them; as soon as they disappeared the woman destroyed the fireplace. The body was never found, but a quick spell to her abandoned wand showed she put up a good fight.

Saying Lia was devastated was an understatement; she was already mature enough to understand what death meant. Eight months passed before they were to start Hogwarts, and at that time the girl still mourned her mother, but with a certain pride behind it. Louise, as everyone from the Order, had died with honor, great courage and had put up a fight.

During these long months, Bill desperately tried to cheer his friend up, so he convinced his father and uncles to build them a small treehouse close to the lake. Then they went shopping together in Diagon Alley, because September 1st was _really_ close. And for August's entirety, it was practically all they talked about; how the classes would be, what would be like playing a real match of Quidditch, what house they would be sorted into ("Gryffindor, of course!" according to the boy), and about the _many_ friends they would make.

"But I don't need more friends! I already have you, you're my best friend." Lia had pouted once, while they laid together for a sleepover in the treehouse.

"I know Lily, you're my best friend too." Bill had answered. "But imagine how many more people we'll meet! Think how incredible making _lots_ of friends would be! Wouldn't it be awesome, like, befriend _everyone_?"

"Even Slytherins?" She had asked, just to provoke him. It had worked, because he had grimaced immediately.

"No, silly, Slytherins are, like, the future Death Eaters." His tone had been kind of disgusted, but dead serious. Lia had ignored the shiver that had ran down her spine.

"And we're the future Order Of The Phoenix." At that, both of them had smiled widely.

* * *

September 1st, 1981, and Platform 9¾ was in complete chaos. Many families were crying and hugging and having a severe catch up; as the war was at it's peak, most people couldn't even know if their friends were even alive at all. Had it been different, there wouldn't be a school year at all, but that moment, though, Hogwarts was the safest place in the whole Wizarding Europe, because there resided the only man Voldemort feared. Albus Dumbledore granted that the platform would be as safe as the school and that the Express would be under heavy protection; thus, that place in that very moment was the hurricane's eye.

Bill and Lia boarded hand-in-hand to avoid getting separated, managing to find an empty cabinet and put their heads out to say a final goodbye. During the trip, no more kids entered their cabinet (and the boy managed to hide his disappointment), so they chatted and speculated and ate candies until the Express stopped.

In the sorting ceremony, Lia went first and, after two minutes of deliberation, was sorted into Gryffindor; immediately a roar from the lions erupted through the Hall. Bill was the last kid, thus earning the loudest row of cheers when the Hat, upon barely touching his head, declared with a thunderous voice: "Gryffindor!"

All in all, the first month was amazing to Bill, but very strange to Lia. He had talked so much about making lots of friends, and then it was only a matter of days for him to get along with every boy from Gryffindor _and_ Ravenclaw. But she discovered herself to be a little socially awkward, as the only ones she managed to effectively talk to were a tall girl with shiny dark skin and amber eyes from her dorm, and a surprisingly kind Slytherin boy that offered help to her in potions class.

Then, at Halloween night, Dumbledore made the announcement. Voldemort had been destroyed while attempting to murder Harry Potter, after murdering James and Lily Potter, in Godric's Hollow. That night Bill and Lia were sat side by side, and at the same time turned to each other with similarly shocked expressions, because they didn't want to believe that Uncle James and Aunt Lily were dead. They hugged and cried while most of the Hall cheered and roared in celebration for the Dark Lord's fall.

A month later was the first time in, well, _forever_ , that Bill turned one of Lia's offer down. She invited him to join her in a small study session with Jean, the only girl she could actually befriend, as there was to be a charms test on the following day.

"Ah, sorry Lily, but I already promised to help the boys." He said, apologetically, and when the girl offered to merge the groups, Bill turned her down yet again. "You know big study groups don't work, it's better this way."

And Lia convinced herself to believe that yes, it wouldn't have worked, but couldn't avoid being a little upset that Bill, _her_ Bill, had turned her offers down twice.

During the next months it only got worse, somehow. Bill would spend more and more time with those boys that looked at Lia strange, and less and less time with her. They still managed to have small talks during one or other meal, or during a class, and in rare moments they would study together. But this moments were becoming scarce.

Lia managed to establish a good friendship with Jean, but it wasn't the same as her friendship with Bill. She refused to think that her relationship with the boy had changed; _he's just enjoying being overwhelmed by all this new people, soon he'll be back to normal_ , Lia kept repeating in her head. And she found herself anxious for the summer, because then they would be together almost every day, like it has always been, and then he would be all _hers_ again. Because she never stopped being _his_ , even if they were slightly apart at the moment.

When they were about to enter Hogwarts Express, Lia and Jean were holding hands to avoid getting lost in the crowd, much like she and Bill had done before, and thanks to the former's insistence, the girls were after said boy. They couldn't find him anywhere, so Jean managed to convince her friend to enter the train and find a cabinet for themselves before every single one was taken.

As they walked through the corridors of the Express, the girls passed through a specific cabinet and, like magic, there was Bill, joking and excitedly talking to the boys. Lia stopped and waved energetically to him, who took a while to notice her presence; then he gave her an awkward wave, and made no motion to go outside the cabinet as she signed for him to.

That attracted the other current occupants attention, and, even though being separated by thick glass, the girls could sense the awkwardness growing. Finally, Jean managed to pull Lia, who still held a hurt expression, away. It was right in time to avoid seeing the boys bursting in laugh.

In the end, Lia and Bill didn't spend the summer together as she had planed to do. Her father, Gringotts' head cursebreaker, insisted on taking his daughters to a vacation with him, "to get away from everything, breathe and rest"; they took a portkey to Egypt a day after the girl arrived from Hogwarts. Jean and Lia exchanged a lot of letters while the later was away. On the other hand, the letters exchanged with Bill were few.

The girl had sent the first owl, saying where she was, describing everything, from food to cursebreaking and touring tombs; he answered in just four inches of parchment, mostly talking about how amazing it was to spent summertime with his friends, and the little he asked was related to the cursebreakers. That stung her heart, but she told herself he just really admired the profession (which was true to _some_ degree). The next letters went pretty much through the same situation.

Lia came back one week before the school started again, and Bill wasn't the first friend she saw. Jean excitedly asked for them to meet at Diagon Alley to buy their books and supplies together as soon as her friend was back. Connor Burns and the Johnsons got along pretty well in a quiet and very adult-like way, and their younger daughter, Angelina, and Lia's small sister, Clara, also suddenly became the best of the friends quickly, as only children could.

The only time Lia went to the Burrow that summer was three days before the school year started, and as always the whole family was reunited in a big table in the gardens. Charlie was poking fun at Percy because the only thing the younger Weasley would talk about were books, while Fred and George whispered furiously to one another, worrying Mr. Weasley a little, and Ron was stuffing his tiny face with food, while Ginny was sound asleep.

And then there was Bill. Bill, who had one of the other Gryffindor boys to come over and practically ignore Lia for the whole afternoon. The girl was indescribably upset when the two of them went to the treehouse. Without her. That night she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

During the second year, Bill and Lia basically just exchanged occasional waves and casual words, no matter how much she tried to talk to him. They sat several meters apart at the Gryffindor table, stopped studying together, just exchanged a couple words during classes. In which, by the way, the girl and her _new best friend_ (she liked to emphasize, trying to ignore the _wrongness_ of her best friend not being Bill), Jean, were becoming really proficient.

To them, mastering charms, jinxes and transfigurations came surprisingly fast and easy, and the execution was as flawless as possible for two second years. Potions were quite more complicated, but with a great deal of focus they could brew most of them without trouble. Flying was another matter for Lia, as she discovered yet in the first year, but Jean just absolutely loved it, and was planning into becoming a beater for Gryffindor.

Of course, everything came with hard work and lots of hours studying together in the library.

That summer, Lia spent the first week in Jean's house, then they switched houses for another seven days, and once again Connor took his daughter to travel. They spent, in heavy contrast with Egypt, the rest of the time in Patagonia, where the winter was harsh and bitting, but beautifully endeared the mountains with white snow. She tried not to think that, this summer, she didn't even had a glimpse of the flaming red hair that she learned to love, the one which contrasted heavily with her dark cascade.

* * *

Back to their third year, Lia and Jean were together in their usual cabinet when a somewhat shy boy entered after, wordlessly, asking for permission. The girls recognized him as a Slytherin in their year; precisely, it was the boy that helped Lia in one of the first potion classes. After some moments of awkward silence, Jean offered him some chocolate flavored fudged flies. Then, conversation was flowing again in a matter of seconds. The girls didn't ask why he wasn't with some random Slytherin friend, and Ed, a short for Edward that they adopted, wasn't willing to talk about that.

Lia and Jean weren't together in any elective discipline, as the former picked Arithmancy and Ancient Runes (and she was nailing it) and the latter picked Care of Magical Creatures and extra Flying lessons, to practice for her tryout at the Quidditch team after the Christmas Holidays. But they were considerably fine with it.

Ed, on the other hand, had picked Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures too, being lucky enough to be in the same classes as both Lia and Jean. But he also surprisingly picked Muggle Studies, and the girls thought this was the reason he was promptly being excluded from his whole house in general.

Some months was all it took for the gossip and rumors to form and run, mainly between Slytherin and Gryffindor but also among the other two houses; the snakes said Ed was a little filthy, foppish blood traitor, while the lions said the two girls were strange and crazed out for being friends with a bloody Slytherin. Then, there was the general prejudice against the unusual amount of time the trio spent in the library, or the odd composition of the small group; the point was, they were the best in their classes, and frustrated almost-teenagers just wanted to discount anyhow.

Considering everything, Lia was somewhat grateful that her boggart was a werewolf, a comprehensible one which wouldn't make anyone make fun of her. The only one who knew _why_ it was a werewolf, though, had utterly stopped talking to her. Bill didn't want to be seen with the weirdo everyone talked ill about; the boy, with a great help of his new mates, made sure to pointedly ignore and avoid her. The girl tried to talk to him sometimes, still, and that moments were awkward as hell to him, and heartbreaking to her.

Once, in History of Magic class, Binns told them to form pairs in order to take a relatively hard quiz on the Goblin Rebellions. Bill ended up alone, because his friends were skipping this "boring as fuck" class, and Lia was on her own too, since Jean was really sick. She was heading to him almost smiling, but as he spotted her coming, he rose his hand.

"Can I do it alone?"

Lia could practically hear something breaking and something roaring inside her aching chest; her quill took a swift fall to the ground, contrary to the inkwell, that shattered in various small pieces and send black ink flying around the ground and her robes. Everyone in the room, except for Binns and Bill, stared mockingly at her as they miserably failed to stifle their laugh. The girl could only watch as Bill took the quiz, sat down and started doing it.

The first reaction was rage. Lia quickly cast a Reparo in her inkwell, cleaned the small mess and rushed to Binns' table to take the quiz. She made sure to ace that stupid thing and be the first to finish too, because the teacher always commented on their scores.

"25/25" His boring voice echoed in the classroom. The scratching sound of quills and chatting stopped, and the girl kept her chin held high. "Perfect score. Well done Miss Burns, you're dismissed"

Lia nodded, grabbed her things and slammed the door shut as strongly as she could. It wasn't as if the ghost would care. Then she ran to the Myrtle's bathroom and thanked Merlin she had a free period, because she cried through every second of it.

* * *

Fourth year went pretty much like third, except for the fact that Jean was finally in the house's Quidditch team; Lia, at the beginning, feared being forgotten by another best friend, but soon her worries were proved to be unjustified, as they just grew closer. Ed would still, as their internal joke, ask both girls for a "date" with him in Hogsmeade every weekend, and they all would still study together for hours and hours in the library.

As every Christmas Holiday, Lia stayed in the school; her father and sister would always spend months in a row somewhere around the world, cursebreaking for him, traveling and exploring for her. Not that she cared, because to be honest Hogwarts was quite nice during that period, mainly because of the Christmas feasts and the empty library.

That summer the Burns, yet again, house changed. As Connor spent the equivalent of school year traveling with the younger daughter, they just stayed in a single place for some weeks in the summer, at maximum, so there was no reason to have a fix house. They settled down for some days, almost two weeks, until Lia received a letter and discovered she was made prefect. Therefore Connor decided to take the girls to New Zealand, inviting Jean along.

* * *

Fifth year was _almost_ the worst one to Lia. Teenagers were getting pretty fucking hormonal, and she couldn't stand the other girls on her room talking, oh so dearly, about how _amazing_ Bill Weasley was, how much of a _good kisser_ he should be and oh, how they wanted him to _snog_ the hell out of them. Jean and Lia started to categorize their stupidity based on how far their fantasies with boys would go, and Emily Tyler topped that list (just because she thought Bill was poor and therefore inferior to her, but Lia would never admit this).

Once, when the girls and Ed, who was also a prefect, were at Three Broomsticks, a group of Gryffindor boys passed by and mercilessly started the teasing. The trio exchanged a quick look before deciding to mess with their heads; Jean and Lia both swung her arms around the Slytherin's shoulders, one from each side, planting kisses on his cheeks, while he slipped his hands around their waists.

"Yeah, we've got a fucking incredible threesome." Ed said, with a smirk. "So what?"

"Are you jealous?" Lia was smirking too.

"Of course they are, look at those leprechaun faces." Jean answered. "They're just being pissy because the can't get a date themselves."

For some weeks, it was pure comedy for the trio to watch people behaving strangely around them; the awkward looks, people blushing furiously as they were caught staring and so. Until it backfired. Hard. Jean and Lia were passing by the almost deserted common room to head to the Great Hall, when two older boys joking around stopped them.

"Hey sweeties." The blonde one said, blocking their way. Lia grabbed her friend's hand and planned on passing right through that guy, preferably harsh and quickly. Then he grabbed her other wrist, hard. "Oi! Didn't your parents teach you respect?"

The other boy, a brunette, snickered and joined his mate. "Come on, don't play the difficult ones, we all know you're so desperate to fuck you even share that filthy Slytherin."

Jean pulled her wand and pointed to the blonde, as Lia let go of the girl to grab her own wand and copy the gesture, pointing instead to the other guy. "You let her go or I'll hex the hell out of you."

"Ohhh scary." He mocked and tightened his grip enough to leave a bruise, casually pulling out his wand too.

"Five points from Gryffindor." Lia said through gritted teeth, taking advantage from her position as prefect, then the boy shoved her away so hard she almost fell. The girls left the common room quickly, but still heard the guys calling them bad names.

After that situation repeated itself, Jean and Lia started to avoid the common room, shoving themselves in the library during the day, until minutes before the curfew, when the former needed to go back and the latter would start patrolling the halls. Being prefect held much responsibilities, but the benefits were probably bigger (using that enormous bathroom was already worth for itself).

The year was passing relatively fast; for the first time Lia was the one supervising the school's decoration being done at Christmas, Hogsmeade seemed enjoyable as ever and her studies were amazing. She planned on acing the nine O. she was to take, but couldn't decide on a profession yet, so the girl would probably take all the subjects to N.E.W.T level.

After the Holidays, Lia was patrolling the halls, luckily, with Ed, when they caught two people snogging the hell out of each other. To the girl's surprise, it was Bill (who happened to be Gryffindor's prefect) and their house sixth year prefect. He had the decency to look at least a bit uncomfortable, but the older girl was just pissed from being interrupted.

"Come on, that's none of your business. We are prefects too, we're not on the curfew." Her voice was annoyed. "Piss off, if anyone ask we're patrolling too."

"Patrolling my ass." Ed replied. Lia and an awkward Bill just stared at each other, wordlessly."If you're going to snog at least do it on your 'patrol' floor, or, better, found a proper place and time to do it."

"Hypocrites." Was the only thing the girl answered, shooting them a dirty glare before taking Bill's hand and walking away.

After that incident Lia avoided patrolling on any of the house's common rooms floors, and utterly ignored a certain Weasley. The O. came quickly and the girl, Jean and Ed were more than ready. She was, with exception of a couple Ravenclaws, the first one to finish and handle the test to the woman that applied it.

Lia went to sit by the lake, atop a small rock, after changing to comfy jeans and a tank top, to read a old romance book. Everything was quiet for a great while, until a Revenclaw, another boy from Gryffindor and _Bill_ , of all people, sat in the red dirt that surrounded the Black Lake.

"Hey, you!" The Ravenclaw called. She looked at him blankly. "You're Lia right? That smart-as-fuck Gryffindor? Come here!" At her arched eyebrows, he rolled his eyes. "Come on! We don't bite!"

Lia sighed heavily, closed her book and wondered for a moment why, in Godric's name, would she go. Then, looking at Bill's almost gleaming eyes, the girl concluded that it was because she still couldn't say no to him. When she sat down with them, Lia didn't missed the other Gryffindor, a brunette, shamelessly eying her body, but ignored it.

They, awkwardly at first, talked about the O.W.L's, and the girl was almost definitely shrugging off the feeling that something would happen, when the mindless third boy spat out suddenly. "Merlin's sake, have you ever considered taking one more guy into that crazy threesome of yours? Because I would fucking love to enter."

Lia blinked in surprise and disgust as the the Ravenclaw and Bill bursted out laughing; she was decided to leave. "Freaking gross." As she grabbed her things, the boy let out an annoyed sigh.

"Come on, don't be so boring, don't you at least want to fuck me? Are you on your period? That's because you calmed your ass down?" He continued in with some mockery as the other boys snickered a little.

Lia huffed and blushed, because she really was on her period, but let them think she was just pissed. The girl quickly got up and the moment she turned her back on them, the boy exclaimed again. "Shit, looks like I was right!" Laugh bursted around as she quickly associated the red dirt and the fact she sat on it in a pair of clear jeans.

Clenching her fists around her book, Lia started to walk fast towards the castle. Hushed steps echoed behind her moments before she heard _his_ voice. "Lily! Wait! Come on, Gabriel was only joking!" He grabbed her wrist and made the girl turn to face him. Bill looked a little annoyed, and she avoided looking in his eyes.

"What a great sense of humor." Lia muttered, trying to ignore his hand burning on her wrist; it was the first time they touched after the hug they shared upon discovering James and Lily's murder.

"Oh, don't be such a spoil." Bill started to pull her towards the boys again, and she fought him and the stinging in her eyes. "Come on, you need to learn to have a good laugh".

"Yeah, because it's really _joyous_ being made fun of." She snapped with barely concealed hurt, pulling her wrist back and stopping dead in her track. He stopped too, but didn't ease his grip. "It's _very_ nice to have _everyone_ gossiping and talking ill about you. It's really _amazing_ when they laugh at you, you should try it. Ah, wait, _you're_ among the ones laughing."

At every word the tremble on her lips became heavier, the strength of her pulls diminished and the stinging in her eyes increased. Only then she dared to look right inside his deep blue irises, and saw something changing in the way he looked at her, his expression in general softening a little as he muttered. "Lily…"

"Don't call me Lily." The tears finally fell. "And let. Me. Go" With a final pull, her wrist was free, and the girl ran back to the castle. She couldn't know, but Bill stood there until the Ravenclaw got to him and pulled the boy back to their place beside the lake.

* * *

Lia stayed in her new, temporary house in Diagon Alley until she received the O.W.L results. She received Outstanding in most subjects, and Exceeds Expectations in Herbology and Astronomy, deciding to take every subject to N.E.W.T level except for those two. The girl reunited with Jean and Ed in the Leaky Cauldron to celebrate their good grades, and proceeded to spend the rest of her summer in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, traveling around in a huge boat with a wizard guide.

The sixth year went on without much trouble; the trio awkwardly had to figure out their relationship again, as Ed and Jean began dating after the first months, but everything went by smoothly, and to their surprises, the other people seemed to finally grow up a little and stop pushing their buttons so much. Everything was alright. Except for the fact that Lia vigorously avoided Bill, it was the best year of her life; good grades, no people teasing the hell out of her, a good social cycle...

However, as everything good lasts little, summer came really fast. Surprisingly, Connor rented a huge house in the edges of Ottery St. Catchpole, as far away from the Weasleys as possible, for his daughter's sake; it had two floors, an enormous living room with glass walls turned to the forest behind the house, and enough space for a family much bigger than theirs.

Connor had some complicated business with the goblins and needed to be at Gringotts' main bank for a while, so for the first time since Lia was ten she would spend the whole summer in England, which was nice. Even more so because her father gave the girl free pass to invite friends over, as long as she took care of Clara.

It was at the beginning of August when Lia, by mid afternoon, received a letter from Hogwarts announcing her appointment as Head Girl. She immediately firecalled Ed and Jean, and after some arrangements with Connor, Clara and the Johnsons, Lia's little sister was sent over to play with Angelina, and her friends were to come by at 20:00 for a pizza night (a wonderful muggle invention).

At dusk Lia was setting makeshift training dummies close to the forest, because as seventeen year-olds they needed a game to play while drinking, since her father liberated the firewhisky; it would be interesting to see how drunk they needed to be to start missing the spells. She was done when the sun disappeared.

Lia was shooting some spells at the targets to test them, starting with the easy ones and then increasing the level. She was about to sent a powerful knockback jinx when a disarming charm came from the forest, blasting her wand several meters away. The startled girl backed out slowly as a tall and muscled figure emerged from the trees.

"You…" The man, who looked more like a beast, growled while sniffing the air. "You don't know for how long I've been searching for the kids of that _bitch._ " He spatted the word with rage. "You don't know for how long I _craved_ the taste of your flesh."

"Who are you?" Lia asked, ignoring the shivers running down her spine, as she continued to back away. For some reason, the girl felt that if she turned around to run, she'd be dead before managing to move a meter. When he came close enough to the light emanating from the house reach his face, she already had the answer. " _Greyback._ "

It was barely a whisper leaving her mouth, but Fenrir Greyback smiled widely, showing the pointy teeth in his mouth. "You know what some of them say…" He let out a half groan, half snare. "Better be dead than be a werewolf." Lia almost froze as she desperately looked to the sky, just to see the full moon beginning to show itself.

Greyback continued to talk, but at that point he was mostly growling and snarling. "An ahh-eye for— an eyehh… After infecting—you, I'll go after that— little—" Then he contorted, and suddenly was no longer a man, letting out a long howl.

Lia turned around and ran as fast as she could. It wasn't enough; of course not. The girl turned her head as the stomping in the ground became heavier, and the werewolf jumped. His powerful jaws clenched in Lia's collarbone while one of his clawed paws ripped all the way through her chest to her thighs, shooting pain through her whole body.

Last thing Lia remembered before falling into numbness were two high-pitched voices screaming. One screamed for her, and Jean's name passed through the girl's head. The other was her own, pained voice.

Lia woke up four days later in a hospital bed, her body sore and achy and almost entirely bandaged. She couldn't move her head, as her right collarbone would burn as if there was hot metal being pressed to it, and it took a while to register that it hurt to breathe because her chest had been severely mauled along her belly and thighs.

Clara was the first person to notice her sister was awake, starting to scream and cry and crush Lia's hand between her small ones. Connor cried too, because when he was informed of the attack, he thought he would lose another part of the family. Had Jean came through the fireplace a minute or so after the time she did, Lia would probably be dead.

When the brunette arrived, the werewolf was distracted from his main prey, advancing on the newcomer girl while Ed emerged from the green flames. It took the teenagers their very best, and every bit of their energy, to successfully combine forces to blast an injure the beast enough to scare it away while avoiding it's attacks, and even so Jean's shoulder was profusely scratched, as well as the boy's thigh. However, none of them were infected thanks to a mouth sealing charm.

The same, of course, couldn't be said about Lia. Lycanthropy was transmitted through saliva, and the sensation of the werewolf's jaw on her flesh was still too vivid for her own good.

* * *

Lia's first transformation was one of the worst experiences she had in her whole life. Locked in a relatively big room at the Shrieking Shack, she paced around and scratched her arms in nervousness, helplessly waiting, because that was the only thing to do. When it began, the girl screamed until her throat burned; she could feel her bones and flesh stretching so hard and so painfully that she thought her skin and muscles would rip, a burning sensation running through her insides while she felt like someone was crushing the bones of her face.

Then, nothing. Literally nothing.

Sunlight peered through small holes in the woods that forcibly maintained the door and windows closed. Lia laid in the middle of the room, her back still bleeding slightly from the wolf self-harming itself and her whole body was sore. The girl slowly opened her eyes, taking in what had happened; she remembered making those gnashes on the wall, and destroying the little furniture that wasn't already in pieces and making the ugly cuts on her own back, and bitting her arms. Everything was fresh in her mind.

After what seemed an eternity, Lia could manage to get up and shakily make her way to the small "bathroom" beside the room to grab a big black piece of clothing, which was similar to a bathrobe. It was easier and less painful to wear, considering her fresh wounds; she needed to thank Madam Pomfrey for her idea. To say that Lia was surprised to learn that Remus Lupin was a werewolf was an understatement; he had come by to talk to her before the full moon, and the girl was even more surprised to learn that he managed to hide it during his whole seven years in school. Thinking back, it made sense considering Dumbledore was so calm upon learning her new condition.

The girl breathed heavily and slowly made her way through the passageway that led to the Whomping Willow. Madam Pomfrey was waiting for her outside; it was already 07:00 AM, indicating probably all the students would be either in the Great Hall or still asleep. They used yet another passage, which was close to Hagrid's Hut, to enter the Hospital Wing directly from the castle's grounds.

Lia spent the whole day recovering in a bed with the privacy curtains closed; her bites and scratches healed rather quickly, as curses in injuries wouldn't affect her anymore, and left behind shiny thin scars. Jean and Ed, who sometimes happened to limp due the injury in his leg, visited the girl a couple times during the day, and the former came back by nightfall to accompany her friend back to their dorms.

Jean, upon Dumbledore and Lia's advice, became Head Girl instead her friend, and was currently sharing a common room with Bill Weasley. The scars on her shoulder were composed by four long and ugly lines, who went all the way through the top part of her limb, where they're worse and deeper, to the middle of her back, where they're thinner and shallow. Once Bill saw them, and then was surprised with how rude Jean was when he asked where they came from. It was a pact she, Ed and Lia made with Dumbledore: keep the werewolf attack an absolute secret.

It would be easier that way.

* * *

Needless to say, seventh year was almost hell to Lia; she quickly started to feel the true impacts of her new condition as a werewolf. The girl would be always half-tired at least, in the week of the full moon her mood would be rubbish and she would tire quickly and easy, but still wouldn't be capable of sleeping properly at night. Then there was the transformation, and Lia would harm herself and then spend the next day looking like she didn't knew the words 'sleep' and 'rest'. And then, the nightmares. She would often wake up with cold sweat running down her back, panic shooting through her veins, only to discover she wasn't transformed. _Yet_.

Oh, and there was the wolf too. At first the girl thought she was going mad when a female voice started to speak inside her head, but a quick chat to Remus cleared things up; in addition to turning into a senseless, human-flesh starved beast once a month, lycanthropes received a partner to share their mind with. It took some months for Lia to actually stop completely ignoring Lua, as the inner-wolf called herself, and some more time for the girl to answer her mind-companion. And Godric knew how the wolf could be annoying.

Sometimes Lua started babbling random nonsense about anything, and Lia would only answer with sounds of agreement or disagreement, as usually she was too tired to mind anything her companion said, but then there were times when the wolf would start talking about sex and, in her words, _mating_ , and the only thing the girl wanted to do was dig a hole and bury herself as deep as she could. Which, of course, wasn't exactly possible, so Lia would only sigh heavily and try not to blush.

The girl knew about werewolves and soulmates, as Remus told her she would only discover who they were upon meeting them after her 21st birthday, the werewolves sexual maturity age. _That_ was embarrassing, talking to him about such things. But Lia wanted to know anything she could about being a werewolf; maybe it would make things easier.

It didn't, but she still hoped for some placebo effect to kick in.

By the penultimate month of the school year, Lia was already somewhat getting used to being a werewolf. When it was full moon, she would stay the whole day pacing around the Hospital Wing or under the effects of a Sleeping Draught, then Madam Pomfrey would take her to the Whomping Willow's passageway by afternoon and get her back next morning. Then another day under the matron's care, and by dusk she would be back on her dorm.

When Lia entered the Shack that nightfall, she breathed in deeply, not knowing if she should be grateful or scared that it would be her penultimate transformation there.

Next morning, Lia woke up in a halt. There was more blood than usual running through her back and arms, some of it splashed over random points of the room, but she couldn't even bring herself to care. That night, while Lua paced and groaned and occasionally scratched or bit her beast-like body, someone approached the Shack. Lia remembered violently banging against the walls and blocked entrances, growling and howling and wanting so desperately to just _kill,_ just _taste their blood_. Several childish screams were still painfully fresh on her ears.

That was the first time Lia really understood what a menace she was, how _real_ the possibility of killing an innocent was. What if the blocks on, say, one of the windows had given in? Sure, they were enforced with heavy magic, but _what if?_

Lia was shaking so hard, be it from blood loss or what happened that night, that she fell three times on her way to the "bathroom". The girl learned to leave a clock and a Blood Replenishing potion there, and that morning she couldn't remember ever being more grateful than she was at that moment. She downed the bright red liquid and checked the time; 05:00AM. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't be waiting for her before 07:00, as she would normally wake up only little before or after that, so the girl tried to calm down, doing the breathing exercises Jean taught her, and wait.

After five infinitely long minutes, Lia was still shaking hard and her eyes were still in a bright tone of gold instead the usual grey. She needed a bath. A nice and really long, cool bath. Since her werewolf traits included abnormal and extremely high body temperature, cold was not a problem anymore; instead, she welcomed it. The girl forced herself up, wishing for some moments she had a Pepper-Up potion, proceeded to put on the black robe, then started to slowly walk through the passageway.

Lia used the other passage to get directly into the Hospital Wing, crossing it as quickly as her weak body could in order to avoid meeting Madam Pomfrey, who certainly would scold her for getting out of the Shack alone. The walk to the prefect's bathroom was painful and slow, and she wanted to smack herself for not at least try to get a potion to numb her pain. However, the girl thanked Merlin that no student in their right mind would be awake and running around the castle at that time; _if_ someone was awake, they would be studying for the final tests. That, for sure, didn't stop her from making sure to clean the trail of blood she left.

Some minutes before 06:00AM, Lia finally managed to turn the shower on and relax a little, delighting herself in the sensation of cold water running down her body and soothing all of the physical pain away. Then, the girl was sure that her intense shaking came from the night's events. But she still didn't knew if she would (or if she should) ask Madam Pomfrey for a Forgetfulness potion, or an obliviating. Lia's grip on the shower taps was so tight her knuckles were turning almost white, her still lightly bleeding back was turned towards the door, and she hung her head low to let the water make it's way down her long dark bangs. There was something soothing on watching the liquid run through her locks and then fall to the ground. But at that moment, nothing could really calm her down.

 **OoOoO**

When Bill walked in the prefect's bathroom, because it was better than the one in his new dorms anyway, he gave mere five steps before stopping dead on his tracks. A naked girl stood under the shower, but what really caught his attention was the blood running down her back, where ten long, ugly and criss-crossed rips stood out among many shiny scars. And she trembled _so_ much. She was shaking harder than the boy even though possible. The moment he realized _who_ she was, his stomach twisted and he had to fight the bile down his throat.

 _"Lily?"_

Lia turned around impossibly fast, her thin arms shooting up in an attempt to cover her body, bright golden eyes widening to form a panicked expression. Bill flinched when her back hit the wall hard; the girl seemed to barely notice that she had just shoved her wounds against the bathroom tiles, staining them with red lines of blood as she slid down the wall until her whole body was a small trembling ball. Bill was going to her to do, well, anything, when she screamed at him.

"NO! STOP!" Lia's voice was strangled and half-sobbed. That was the first time ever she yelled at him.

But the boy turned off the shower with a flick of his wand and continued to approach her. "Lily I need to-"

As soon as he touched the girl, she flinched away as if she was burned, the gold in her eyes intensifying. "NO! GO AWAY WILLIAM! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Lia gripped her arms so tight that the recent bite wounds started to reopen themselves, her breath quickening and becoming unsteady, choked. Bill was taken aback, surprised and incredibly hurt. He slowly retreated towards the door, giving Lia's shaking form one more glance before walking out. The boy thoughtfully changed the bathroom's password so that she wouldn't be disturbed by any student.

 **OoOoO**

When Madam Pomfrey stormed through the bathroom's door, half an hour later, Lia had already managed to calm down a bit, although she was still curled in the ground, cold water falling on her body. The woman proceeded to take the girl, who kept babbling about the fact that William Weasley _knew_ , back to the Hospital Wing without attracting much attention while soothing the small one's apparent worries. Lia knew he wasn't going to tell anyone, but he _knew_. He wasn't dumb.

After receiving proper care to her wounds and another Blood Replenishing, Lia downed, too, a Dreamless Sleep and a Sleeping Draught. Jean and Ed came to her bedside to see a considerably peaceful expression, but exchanged worried looks upon noticing more bandages than the usual, in addition to deeper dark circles and an even more ghostly skin tone. Then, Madam Pomfrey had been extremely clear that the girl would stay until next morning.

Lia woke up at twenty-past-nine, with the Hogwarts' matron shoving some food to her. Honestly, it was just a thin and long piece of almost raw meat, accompanied by some Nutrition potions and a butterbeer. The girl knew Madam Pomfrey wished she ate more than that, and wanted to please the woman, though quite honestly, the idea of eating meat suddenly didn't seem so appealing anymore. Of course Lua was craving it, but Lia's stomach was still twisting a little.

So she just sat cross legged on the bed, downed the potions, and proceeded to sip on her beverage while contemplating whether she would or not eat the meat in front of her. The moment Lia gave in to Lua's cravings, with a piece of dripping meat on the way to her watering mouth, the curtains opened. Madam Pomfrey stepped aside to William Weasley, of all people, enter.

The girl saw a flicker of disgust in his eyes, which were focused on the raw meat; against Lua's howling and rambling, she put the fork down on the plate. Her stomach suddenly clenched and her body tensed, so Lia thought she wouldn't have been able to eat anyway.

They stared for a while before he broke the tense silence. "You okay?" Lia nodded shortly. "You know I won't tell anyone, right?" Another nod, although it was fulfilled with tension. "Since— When… _it_ happened?" That time she didn't answer, and he became exasperated, his eyes shinning with plead and worry. " _Please_ , talk to me Lily."

Lia's whole body started to ache from so much tension; she _so_ was angry and hurt and utterly exhausted, while at the same time she needed and missed _him_ so damn much. But the bitter emotions won, be it because of the moon or else, much to Lua's entertainment. " _Why?"_ The girl watched Bill's expression fall. "Why should I talk to you, when for _years_ you didn't want do so much as _look_ at me?"

The boy swallowed hard, and a low and angry growl escaped Lia's throat as she continued "Go back to your _friends,_ " The word was spat as if it was poison on her mouth. "And don't call me Lily."

Bill didn't knew that if he insisted just a little more, she would give in. So Lia tried not to care as he turned his back and took some moments to leave; she tried not to think that as him choosing his friends over her _again_. As soon as the curtains were closed, then, the girl started to sob. Bill stood on the other side of the white veil until he couldn't take hearing her anymore.

Calling the final six weeks in Hogwarts "tiresome" was a huge understatement. Lia nearly fainted from exhaustion twice, because between studying for the N.E.W.T's, dealing with her wolf and the transformation, complying with her prefect duties and avoiding Bill at all costs, she was almost going mad.

So the girl was grateful to no limit when it all ended. Of course there was the ever-present melancholy from leaving the place that was her home for so long, but at the same time everything was so utterly gratifying. She not only survived Hogwarts, she managed to (at least academically) _thrive_ ; Lia had nine perfect O.W.L's and seven perfect N.E.W.T's, so there was a variety of possible jobs for her. That was, if someone was wiling to employ a werewolf, but she was leaving that matter for latter.

Jean hadn't as many N.E.W.T's, as she dropped history of magic, astronomy and herbology in order to focus on Quiddich; this was well paid, though, because she already had an invitation to join the Ballycastle Bats as the reserve beater. And Ed had already been offered a job in the Ministry's Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, but managed to switch into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, with the promise of making life better to werewolves.

At the graduation night in the Great Hall, occupied only by the graduates and their guests, everything was perfect. It was a silent pact between everyone that there would be no fights, pranks or animosity that night; no one in their right mind would mess up their very last hours on that castle.

Lia and Jean wore matching dresses and shoes that night, while Ed wore an elegant suit. They chatted, drank, ate and stopped to look at the enhanced ceiling for long, misty moments, and even exchanged quick and not exactly friendly, but at least cordial words with their fellow graduates from their houses for the first time since, well, forever.

Their siblings played around with some random kids while their parents chatted between themselves and, occasionally, some other proud mother or father. The trio got to talk to some over friendly (and mildly drunk) Hufflepuffs and the girls made peace with their roommates.

Lia saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for the first time in practically six years, and almost cried upon receiving a Weasley hug that she didn't knew she needed so damn much. Then Molly managed to reduce herself and the girl to tears as she started to talk about how much Louise would be proud. Arthur stumbled a little over his small speech that moment, but got some brightening words out too.

After having something like a catch up with the couple, Lia exchanged friendly words with a suddenly very awkward Charlie and successfully confirmed that she was still capable of telling the twins apart. The girl was about to go back to her family when she spotted a long cascade of flaming red hair.

Bill and Lia locked gazes for long moments. They were several meters apart, with people walking back and forth nonstop, but none of that made the moment less intense. After what felt like a eternity, he looked like he was going to come to her. And she dreaded it as much as she hoped for it.

Then the magic was broken when some Gryffindor boys started to shove him towards the drinks table. He went with them, and Lia literally got a visual reminder of why he wasn't the same. Neither of them were. She shook her head as if it would shake off the sore ache in her chest, the burning pain of knowing that Bill wouldn't ever chose her. Not anymore.

So when he looked back, she was not there.

* * *

 **Author Note:** That's it! I have the second and last chapter in progress, as I already have everything figured out. And let me know what you think about this story, I would love some feedback!

 **PS:** Did I managed to make someone cry?

 **Air kisses for y'all 3**


	2. About Time, Gringotts and Emotions

**Author Notes:** So, I don't really have anything to say about posting the continuation a year and a half after the first part, believe me when I say the most upset about the situation is me :( In my defense that could be read as a one-shot *awkwardly smiles* (I'm really sorry ;-;)

 **Disclaimer:** This universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I very adamantly do not agree with her disgusting views on trans community. The plot and a couple characters are, however, mine in fact.

 **Chapter's Summary:** _After traveling, living and more or less finding herself in the middle of everything, Lia comes back to England. And she discovers that time does indeed change people._

* * *

After leaving Hogwarts and tirelessly arguing, bargaining, discussing and convincing, Lia could finally set up a fair deal with the goblins regarding her work and her condition as a werewolf. It took two entire months for the girl to finally be nominated a Gringotts apprentice cursebreaker and she was utterly proud of herself, although a little suspicious of her father moving one or two sticks with Ragnok. Though the fact that a potioneer created a fully functional Wolfsbane potion, which allowed werewolves to keep their minds during the transformation, was of a huge help.

Their final deal was a start of 130 galleons per month plus a supply of the potion, but the true point was that Lia proved her worth by acing every test and every mission during her brief training, so mere three months after being effectively employed, she was already being transferred to Brazil in order to begin her field work at the buried ancient ruins hidden in the middle of Amazon rainforest.

Lia's life was amazing at that point. Yes, she often missed her family, Remus, Jean and Ed, but they kept in constant touch through letters and an occasional reunion in the Holidays. Regarding her furry little problem, as she decided to take a page out of Remus' book, the Wolfsbane potion did wonders, really; the woman would remain plain and wonderfully sane, the only issue being the pain of the transformation, but quite honestly that was nothing. Her salary had increased significantly over time, and she found herself becoming less socially awkward.

Her relationship with her fellow cursebreakers in the rainforest was pretty good, and they were considerate regarding the fact she was a werewolf. There was even one animagus guy, Lucas, that offered to keep her company during the full moon, not knowing she had access to the Wolfsbane. After a while Lia ended up dating him; her first relationship was sweet and awkward and every nice thing possible.

It lasted a whole year and a half, in which she brought him to travel around England and Europe, let him guide her through Latin America and spent their anniversary in the middle of South Africa. When they broke up though, it was considerably mutual and harmless; Lia became aware he was not her mate, and when he needed to return to Fortaleza with no commitment to be back, it was easy to let him go. It did hurt, for both of them, but they managed to keep their friendship in the end.

In the six years she spent there, Lia explored and discovered almost everything about those ruins, remains of an ancient tribe; their form of magic was nonsensical and very simple at the same time, consisting mainly on intriguing runes the cursebreakers spent years trying to figure out, especially the ones powered by the very nature around them. She got injured and cursed several times, as well as her team, over many expeditions, but she also made exciting discoveries and found hidden treasures. In Brazil they were always running high on adrenaline and then sleeping soundly on sheer exhaustion.

Then, of course, something went terribly wrong. In a high-level expedition on the other side of the world, Connor Burns was fatally injured. Which didn't make any sense at all, because he was the damn best at their field. Lia was sure that there was some misunderstanding, that the tightness she felt on her chest was just the oncoming full-moon, even though Lua was strangely quiet. Nonetheless Lia took the first portkey she could to get to her sister in Hogwarts, then they went right to the middle of the Himalayan Mountains.

Connor was in a way too fragile state to be safely transported to any hospital, his whole body and face disfigured by what clearly had to be a fragmentation explosion. No, worse. A fragmentation explosion with cursed, poisoned shards. His breath was shallow and painfully slow; the man couldn't even manage to open an eye, his unstable magic swaying and barely disappearing at times, so moving him was out of question. The healers there couldn't figure out neither the poison nor the curse, and the Blood Replenishing potions were losing effect quickly.

A newbie who was supposed to just watch the expedition had found a small box made of pure gold, incrusted with diamonds and jewels; precipitating himself into opening it, he had been careless about properly checking to see if it was clean. Connor had noticed something was off and quickly _accio_ 'd the recently open box to him. Seconds after it was opened, while in it's trajectory towards the head cursebreaker, it exploded violently and less than a foot away from him. No one else was severely harmed.

A week after the funeral, Lia's request to be transferred to a desk job in England, at Gringotts' main bank, was accepted. She bought a good flat at Diagon Alley, because at that point she had more money in her vault than she knew what to do with, took the guardianship of her sister and forced herself to be strong for Clara.

The Johnsons were there for them, offering heartfelt support through everything, but with Jean's ever growing career at professional Quidditch and Ed's absurdly busy and hurried life at the Ministry, Lia was stuck between feeling guilty and thinking that they weren't really there.

Remus, however, was probably the main reason the young woman didn't crumble after a week. They met up a lot and he seemed to always know whether to distract her or let her vent and cry, the perfect balance between a break into the sorrow and an unmovable pillar.

As for the Weasleys, Molly and Arthur attended to Connor's funeral and kept in touch with Lia through letters mostly, as the woman still wasn't exactly comfortable in going to the Burrow, because accidentally bumping on a certain someone was really low on her priorities list. The matriarch always made sure to send her some food, though, so in a way it felt like she was back into that childhood home for a while.

* * *

The desk job in Gringotts was a little awful. Lots of paperwork; some of them about vaults' layers of protection, other sheets about general accounting, clients having an issue or a request, procedures that needed to be realized in some of the deeper levels, everything one could imagine. Mostly Lia could cope with it, being organized, proficient in dealing with curses (may it be breaking or casting them) and pretty good in arithmancy, but she became more drained than ever, or at least since Hogwarts.

Last time the woman had had adequate amounts of daily sunlight or some physical exercise was some weeks ago. Usually she arrived at Gringotts at 07:00 after having a much needed cup of tea, shut herself in her office until lunch time, when she went to grab something at the Leaky, then left around 20:00, if there were no more complications, because in the bad days she would stay at least until 23:00. Sometimes they had the good sense to add the extra hours to her payment, though, so it was fine.

Once, Lucius Malfoy wanted to add extra layers of protection to his vault, but on it's current location it wasn't possible to do so; in a matter of minutes he bought a space in even deeper levels and wanted everything to be moved and secured the same day. Lia, as one of the most trusted human employee, was left to organize the moving and manage the new wards, curses and protections. She almost didn't even bother going home as dawn was almost breaking, but Ragnok raised her salary and gave her the day off.

The bright side of her job, though, was a really worthy one. Lia could manage to see Remus, who had just started to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, almost every weekend, with the benefit of seeing Clara too when they met in Hogsmeade, plus Ed once a week, even though his life at the Ministry was busy, and Jean, who was now a beater for the Falmouth Falcons, once or twice every month. As for the Weasleys, Lia managed to compose herself and pay them a small visit once. All in all, it could be worse.

* * *

Connor had died some months ago. Clara wanted to stay in Hogwarts for Christmas Holidays because Angelina would be staying too; as Lia expected her sister to go to Hogsmeade's train station with the fellow students who wouldn't stay, she planned to make a surprise and show up. She could do that more often, if her job allowed her to. Even though Lia felt no right in complaining, because she could very well be unemployed, it was obvious she was the most overloaded human employee in Gringotts, and the woman pretended to not know why at all.

Lia arrived in the small town early, around 09:00 when the Express would only leave at 11:00, and took her time drinking a butterbeer at Three Broomsticks and eating some sweets at Honeydukes. It tasted like childhood and home. Around 10:00, it was very easy to see the mass of students coming in the dark carriages pulled by thestrals, and for some moments Lia wished her sister wasn't able to see them, but she shook the thought off and proceeded to search for the girl.

Instead of finding her sister, the first familiar faces she saw had flaming red hair. To be honest, two faces were identical, and the other was just pure grumpiness. Percy Weasley took some moments to recognize her, and the twins probably wouldn't do so anyway.

"Lia?" The older Weasley's expression was somewhat shocked.

"Percy, George and Fred." She nodded, with a small, pale-lipped smile. "Long time no-see; you guys really _did_ grew up, and I think that, unfortunately, I lost my ability to tell you two apart."

"Uh, sorry, but…" One of them started.

"Who are you?" The other finished.

The woman let out a small, wistful sigh that puzzled the boys, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. Maybe, if things had went differently some years ago, that question would be, instead, a big Weasley hug. "Ah, I guess I'm just Clara's older sister. The name's Lia."

Both twins took it as a satisfying answer, but Percy frowned at the way she put it. However, he hadn't time to question the woman, as Clara came running and crashed against her sibling. They hugged tightly, and Fred dumbly stared at the newcomer, his crush since the begging of this current school year.

"I thought you were at Gringotts!" The girl said, with a bright smile that her sister managed to return not so poorly.

"Took a day off to see you; maybe we could lunch together with Angie?" Lia asked, looking between the two girls, who nodded energetically. Everyone was entering the Express already. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys around. Take your time saying your goodbyes, Cla, I'll get a table and some butterbeers at Three Broomsticks."

The woman shot a pointed look at Fred, who blushed, and left quickly after bidding farewell to the Weasleys. The understatement of the year was saying that Clara was confused as Percy, who exchanged not so much as a couple sentences with her in all her Hogwarts years, started asking about Lia's job and life in the past years.

Lia spent the whole evening with the younger girls, eating and chatting at Three Broomsticks; they were loving the current school year, even though they would have to start preparing for the O.W.L's , and though Snape was a pain in the ass, as usual, Remus made up for him. The three girls left the restaurant as soon as the sun started to fade, and Lia managed to create a patronus and call her fellow werewolf to meet her at Hogwarts' gates. The silvery fennec fox was smaller and not as shiny as it should have been for a proper patronus, but did it's job anyway.

When she returned home to, as usual per now, a lonely place, the woman sighed. After six years in constant company of her fellow cursebreakers and, even before that, Jean and Ed, it was at least mildly disconcerting to be alone in her flat.

Then there was Remus, who had become very close to Lia since she was infected. Even with the job as a teacher in Hogwarts, one which she could see made him happy, he still managed to come over to the flat for a weekend movie night if they weren't feeling like going to Hogsmeade, or just a snack and some drinks, things like that.

He was happy with his current life, and that made Lia unspeakably glad. Remus told her all about how Harry Potter was James' carbon copy, but with Lily's eyes and soul, how it was thrilling to be back in the castle, they even could discuss about the wondrous Wolfsbane potion now that Remus had access to it too.

* * *

In the end, time passed by quicker than Lia was expecting. The fact she managed to adapt to her new life and work was both worrying and satisfactory, as she still had absurd workloads and bad sleeping habits. Also, there was the fact that she, Ed and Jean managed to put up a functional schedule so that all three of them could meet at least once a month. And the Weasleys were fine; Lia usually visited Molly and Arthur every other Sunday, and was always glad that they also avoided talking about Bill.

That was another complicated matter. Sure it had been a long time, almost fourteen years, since they were proper friends, and between that six of no communication at all. Lia resented him, but was also slowly, so, so slowly, starting to heal. Sometimes she would still wonder _why, what happened to us, what if?_ Sometimes she would be mad, and other times she would only be sad. In the end it just felt like an ever itching wound.

All in all Lia was getting by just fine, but things had gone south for Remus. He mourned for days after the whole incident with Sirius Black and Pettigrew, and Lia tried to be there for him as much as possible, because the wolf destroyed everything. And he blamed himself, of course he did, but the worst part was about how he would keep this thoughts to himself. So she made sure to keep him company as well as she could, often sending him chocolate, as Remus adamantly refused to let her brew Wolfsbane for him.

That summer, though, was refreshing for her, as the Burns sisters managed to visit Brazil for a couple weeks and Lia could meet up again with her friends and ex-fellow cursebreakers, who couldn't help but poke fun at her being on a damn desk job. Probably their best trait was how they could always joke around and bring lightness to all situations, and it was relieving. Lucas was there too, also visiting, and then it was Clara who teased her sister.

They also visited Brazil's muggle cities and beaches after spending a week on the cursebreaking sites, and Lucas was enthusiastic touring them through Fortaleza. The vacation came to an end after another week, and Clara admitted that she was, maybe, being swayed into going for a cursebreaking career too. "It's in the blood then." Lucas had said after the girl's confession, and for the first time remembering Connor didn't brought any kind of pain, only fond nostalgia.

Back in England, though, things went by slowly. The siblings stayed on the Diagon Alley's flat, met up with their respective friends every once in a while, and then there was the Quidditch World Cup. Jean was almost freaking out with the tickets Ed gained from some friends at the Ministry, and they wouldn't stop asking Lia to come; as the couple planned, they would also take Clara and Angelina, but still had one ticket to spare.

Thinking it would be a good way to cheer him up, then, Lia talked to her friends and Remus was also invited to tag along. That's how they found themselves surrounded by thousands of wizards at the camping site close to the stadium. Lia bought some souvenirs for both her sister and Remus, even though he was adamant she shouldn't be spending her money with him.

"Well, the money is mine and as far as I know I'm allowed to spend it as I see fit, right?" Was her answer every time he complained.

On the day before the final match, Lia discovered through her sister and Angelina that the Weasleys and some of their family friends were also at the camp. All of them, minus Molly. Something twisted inside her, but the woman wouldn't let herself be taken aback by that. At the final match, in the end, even though Bulgaria's seeker did manage to catch the golden snitch, they still lost in the exact way Jean predicted earlier.

They got out of the stadium and headed back to the camp, Clara and Angelina walking away to search for the Weasley twins. One moment everything was fine, but in a matter of seconds chaos erupted. People started to run and scream, spells flying around and barracks caching fire. In a quick exchange of glances their small group split up, Jean and Ed running to the epicenter of the turmoil while Lia and Remus went after the girls.

Black capes and silvery masks made the older man freeze dead on his track for brief moments, his eyes shining with recognition and a mixture of rage and sorrow, something haunted even. _Death Eaters_. Lia had never seen one in flesh, but Remus not only lived through but also fought in the First War. As the woman blocked a spell coming for them, he snapped out of his momentary trance and, side by side, they advanced.

Adrenaline started to run through Lia's veins, for some moments taking her back to the most wild cursebreaking expeditions as she ducked and shielded and attacked. But she noticed how rusty she was, not as fast or relentless as she used to be, running through ruins while deactivating traps and breaking curses simultaneously. Now, her body protested at almost every sharp move. It didn't mattered; even out of shape Lia, moreover with Remus by her side, was better than most of that Death Eaters.

The mass of black cloaks was firing indiscriminately at every direction though, so that sheer unpredictability was making things difficult. Lia finally spotted her sister and Angelina, several feet away, with the Weasley twins, the four of them forming a united front of defensive spells, which made the woman smile slightly.

She caught Remus eye, both of them agreeing this needed to be finished quickly. Lia glued her back on his and let her friend defend them as she pulled out of her memories a forceful spell learned in Brazil: she burned the two runes on the ground and chanted the incantation. When ready, Lia pulled Remus out of the way and fired, the disruption in space breaking through the enemies' shields and knocking several of them over.

Lia's magic was drained greatly by the spell, but it disrupted the Death Eaters and made some of them flee out of scare. The others followed suit as they began to be overwhelmed by several people fighting them back. The werewolves ran to the teenagers, gladly confirming no one was injured.

"You did well with the defensive spells, and lining up like that was smart of you kids." Remus complimented them, smiling openly as they insisted it was all thanks to his teachings on the previous school year. "George, Fred, it think it best if we escort you back to your tent."

Everyone nodded, and Lia assured the older man it would be fine with a lingering stare, so they proceeded to follow the twins. The woman was inhaling and exhaling in a measured pace. It was going to be fine. For some moments they expected chaos to break out again when the Dark Mark appeared in the sky, but instead things just seemed to still. Remus was clenching his fists harshly, so the woman came closer to try and comfort him.

As they arrived at the Weasley's tent Arthur was coming their way with three kids; a girl with bushy brown hair, one incredibly grown Ron and a boy she never saw, but recognized. The man spotted the newcomers and came to meet them. Fred and George scooted closer to their brother as the adults talked.

"Lia, Remus, great to see you, despite this awful situation. Thanks for bringing them back." Arthur smiled after hugging the werewolves. Remus started a pleasant conversation with the older man, and Lia turned to the kids with a quick introduction.

As Harry Potter shook her hand, the woman couldn't help a sad smile. "You look like the exact combination of James and Lily, you know?" The boy smiled too, and was about to add something when the tent opened.

"Dad? Is everything alright?" Bill came out, holding a bloodied sheet to his arm with a concerned frown. Something snapped. Lua howled and banged inside Lia's head. Her throat constricted and she froze as the wolf screamed. Suddenly everything seemed brighter and at some level the woman registered her pupils must have dilated, as a chill ran down her spine.

Remus immediately noticed her reaction and rushed to her side in a flick, calling the girls. "It would be nice to stay longer, Arthur, but Jean and Ed must be worried. I hope we meet again soon."

Their goodbyes were exchanged quickly and Lia barely looked at Bill again, shock and some degree of rage building up in her chest. _Of fucking course my damn mate is him_. She wanted to laugh in pure histeria and incredulity; exactly how hard life planned to fuck her?

 **OoOoO**

When Bill came back form Egypt for the Quidditch World Cup he was happy. The almost six years he spent there were great, it was the job of his dreams and his fellow cursebreakers became good friends instead, the only relative downside being staying so far away from his family, which could be both refreshing and strange.

His life was good ever since Hogwarts, even though he lost contact with most of his friends from the time in the castle. Then there was Lia; he thought about her more often than not to be honest. Bill knew he had fucked up, and couldn't say he wasn't aware of that before the end. In Hogwarts he convinced himself that things were fine that way, he was better off without her, that Lia was just a childhood friend because of their mothers and growing out of it should be good.

Bill convinced himself he shouldn't care. All of his convictions crumbled that dreadful morning when he found her at the prefect's bathroom. He remembered the crushing feeling on his chest and some sleepless nights after that. He couldn't _not care_ then. He couldn't help but think at least some of that was his fault, or that he was at fault for not helping.

And then Bill also realized he hadn't the right to go after her and demand forgiveness. Now Lia was the one who would be better off without him; it would be funny if it didn't left a bitter taste on his mouth.

Upon arriving at the Burrow he talked to his parents about his job, his life in Egypt and in the end asked them about Lia. Molly's face contorted in a frown and she sighed deeply before telling him Connor Burns died last year; he was confused and shaken and only feeling more guilty. His mother then told him Lia was doing okay despite everything, with a desk job at Gringotts, and would sometimes come over on Sundays, but never on summer.

To his surprise, after talking to all of his siblings, Percy pushed him aside and also talked about Lia and what the woman had done until now. Bill didn't even thought about asking how his brother knew all of this, just listening and learning that she was also a cursebreaker and spent some years on Brazil, and now lived on a flat in Diagon Alley. In the end, though, he put all of this aside for the sake of enjoying the time with his whole family again.

So when Bill saw Lia at the Quidditch World Cup, he was at a loss of actions. She seemed almost healthy, much better than he remembered her being in seventh year. She was sweaty and her wand was still on her hand. Crossing gazes with her was strange. His heart rate picked up. And he watched without even saying anything as Remus scooted close to the woman and quickly excused them. He was as glad as he was frustrated.

* * *

With how the Triwizard Tournament turned out, Bill was decided to move back to England and become a more active member of the new Order of The Phoenix. There was something strangely nostalgic and tragic about that. He remembered the First War, how they promised to be the next Order. He wondered whether she would be there too.

However, one place where he was sure he would be seeing Lia was at Gringotts, as from what he knew now both of them would be working in desk jobs there. Bill was somewhat anxious, to be honest, but had set his mind on talking to her at some point, he just needed to.

First time they saw each other was awkward. Bill had just got out of his office when Lia opened the door to her own; they stared, then she shut the door. It happened twice in three weeks. After a month working together he noticed she didn't came out for lunch anymore, and had no idea about her schedule: Lia always arrived before him, and apparently also left after.

When they actually interacted was because the goblins requested them to set up a Thief's Downfall on the way to the deeper levels. Lia was tense and Bill knew it was a bad idea to try and approach her like that, so they worked quietly and talked only when it was crucial. The job was perfectly executed, and he was glad that she agreed when he mentioned it.

The first time Bill had to stay late on the office was also the first time they had a semi-small-talk. It was past 22:00 and as the man locked his office he heard Lia's door click open; he didn't turn and waited until she locked her own office. Bill was a little puzzled, wondering whether she was always up at this time. "Hey. Also working late?"

Lia, to his surprise, snorted. "Always." They left Gringotts side by side in an awkward silence, but it was not terrible, and she did answered when he bid her goodnight.

In the beginning of his third month there, they started acknowledging each other. Or, well, Lia stopped avoiding him so adamantly, not appearing to be so uncomfortable around him all the time. Which for Bill was a small victory already, so he would greet her when they happened to meet, never pushing for a conversation.

Once Bill was coming back from his lunch break and found Jean and Lia in front of the Bank; the taller girl shot him a damn dirty look, so he decided against trying to talk to them. Honestly, he couldn't even blame Jean, the only jerk on the story was him.

Bill was working late again when he managed to make some small talk with Lia; she really wasn't lying stating that she always worked into the night. "You've always been at the desk job?"

The woman seemed a little taken aback by the question and for some moments he worried about making the wrong question. Slowly, though, a small smile curved her lips. "No. I did fieldwork in Brazil for some years. You?"

"I worked in Egypt ever since starting, cursebreaking in the tombs and all. Just transferred here." The rest of the conversation wasn't deep or lasting, but they kept the small talk until parting ways at Gringotts' entrance.

It was a Friday night and Remus was waiting outside. Something twisted in Bill's gut as Lia smiled at the man; it wasn't a blinding smile, just the kind that lit up her features. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her smile like that. They bid him goodnight and walked away closely.

Nonetheless, from that night Bill managed to strike up some conversations with Lia. They never talked much and never about anything but cursebreaking, sometimes one or two things about the Order and every now and then Lia would ask about the kids, Ron and his friends. He in turn would ask about Clara. And that was it; definitely not small talk, neither more elaborated conversations.

At some point, then, Bill was sure Lia and Remus were dating. The man would often meet up with her after their shifts, sometimes even at lunch, and she always seemed more at ease after these occasions. And even though something deep inside him would twist and protest, he smashed the feeling. The worst part was that Bill couldn't even tell if her sense of humor had always been so sharp, if her eyes used to spark with knowledge when talking about cursebreaking, or gleam with affection and determination when Clara was mentioned, if she had always smiled with her whole face, even slightly.

He did remember them playing and ice-skating, having sleepovers at the old treehouse and chasing gnomes, taking care of the orchard and learning about the war. But all those details, the small things Bill now started to notice and appreciate, were all gone from his memory. The only thing burned into his mind was _that_ morning on the prefects' bathroom, and the way she cried that night.

Another month or so passed with these not-small-talks that slowly, painfully slowly, became less charged with tension. Once Lia had even accepted half of the butterbeer bottle he opened while they left Gringott's, staying awhile on the Bank's entrance and calmly chatting with him. That is, until he messed up.

"So, how's things with Remus?" Bill asked, his cool expression not betraying the tightness on his chest. And he wanted to cringe when Lia proceeded to say the werewolf was fine, as she clearly didn't understood his point. "I meant in the way… Well, you're dating him, so…"

At that exact moment Lia was sipping on the butterbeer, and she choked so hard he actually became worried. Her whole face was beet red as she coughed and tried to catch her breath, dropping the conjured glass on the ground. She doubled over trying to clean her wet face while still coughing, also faintly wheezing some words out. "I— I'm not— _dating_."

After that Lia immediately disapparated, and Bill just stood in confusion. While he was relieved to some degree, he was also aware that, for one, he had asked about something more private than he was entitled to, and then, from her reaction, he guessed that maybe Lia _did_ fancy Remus.

The week following this incident was awkward, and even though Bill eventually managed to properly apologize, he knew they had took some steps behind. During that time, also, Fleur Delacour began to seek his company during their work hours even more actively. He was no oblivious kid, and could see that the beautiful witch was interested in him.

And, acknowledging the feeling buried inside his chest and the fact that, even if Lia managed to somehow look at him the same way (which he knew, deep inside, that couldn't happen), he wasn't worth it, Bill finally corresponded to Fleur's advances and led her on.

* * *

Two months passed, and things started to complicate as the Ministry became increasingly adamant on their campaign against Dumbledore, Harry and every "rumor" that You-Know-Who was back. The Order's meetings picked up a more consistent rhythm, and after one of those Bill finally got the impression he was back to making… progress with Lia, as they apparated together to Gringotts.

She was, amazingly, talking about how once her friend over Brazil splinched her when she side-apparated with him, an amused expression on her face and her tone light and fond. Maybe if Bill wasn't so absorbed into her, he wouldn't have noticed. The fact, however, was that he _was_. So he noticed that when Fleur came to greet him, Lia's voice faltered for a split second. And after politely excusing herself, she almost rushed to the Bank.

Bill knew, to some extent, that Lia wasn't very comfortable in Fleur's presence at all, but she usually kept a straight face and stood perfectly composed. In the end, though, this was pushed aside when Fleur asked him to accompany her on the new coffee shop a street over. They weren't dating, he had established that already; sometimes, though, he couldn't help but end up indulging her.

Next time Bill approached Lia she was smiling breezily while exiting her office, probably to grab something for lunch as he also intended to. "Someone's on a good mood." He commented, insisting that it could be anything that had her like this.

"Ah, yeah. Well, Remus…" And she paused, her smile broadening and lighting up her whole face. Bill's heart stopped on his chest with a heavy pang, his throat tight. "He and Sirius finally pulled their heads out of their asses, Remus just sent me a letter saying they sorted themselves out."

And Bill stopped dead on his tracks out of pure shock. "Wait, _what?_ " If he got it right, why was Lia so happy that the man she fancied was dating?

The woman apparently misunderstood his reaction, though, as her expression closed into something that he faintly related to Molly's fury when someone threatened her children. When Lia spoke, her tone was clipped and hit him like a whip. "Yes. Remus and Sirius are together. Have any problem with that?"

"No! Merlin's sake, never!" Bill hurried to say, panicking because he could never fathom such thing, his mind going a mile per hour until he found something acceptable to say without blowing that he thought Lia fancied Remus. "I just thought Sirius was with Emmeline, she is always visiting him in Grimmauld."

After a scrutinizing his expression, Lia's temper was quickly subsided and she chuckled. "Yeah, she does seem to have a thing for Sirius. But no, he and Remus have been dancing around each other since last year. And even though things have been tough, they were being idiots."

"Thinking about it, they _do_ make a good couple." Bill added with a smile that was only half because he was genuinely happy for them, the other half being some kind of relief. So, in a stupid spur of the moment, his heart beating fast, he made a decision. "Wanna go grab something at the Leaky?"

He saw it. Her surprise, the conflict on her eyes as they darted around uncertainly, the way she swallowed dry and opened her mouth without a sound coming out. Everything had frozen while Bill waited for an answer that he was most certain would be a _no_. Lia inhaled deeply and averted his gaze. "Yeah, okay."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** That's it, I know it probably wasn't worth the wait, but it's here. I do plan on writing more and know where I want to go with this, but at the same time I can't promise it will be posted anytime soon. So I finished in a point that seemed fair enough as a fit, hopeful "ending". And I want to thank Einklley because I really hadn't thought to give Remus and Lia such a close relationship, but with their comment I saw that it was indeed fitting and interesting. Besides, I also want to thank everyone that commented and deeply apologize for taking so long to post.

 **PS:** What did you thought about Bill's POV?

 **Sweet kisses for y'all.**


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